This holiday season you may have found yourself at a loss for certain people on your gift list. Hopefully you weren’t desperate enough to hand out any toys that resemble anything on this list. We refer, of course, to the Top 11 Creepiest Dolls in Horror!
Some are killers, some are possessed, and they’re all just downright creepy. But before we dive into the main course, we’ve got a few honorable mention films that feature freaky dolls. Dolls and Dolly Dearest are great examples of just how belligerent these toys can be. These may be a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but we’ve got to mention Ooga Booga and Black Devil Doll and one of the earlier horrific doll movies, Asylum from 1972.
Trilogy of Terror (1975) – Zuni Fetish Doll
This anthology film starred Karen Black in all three segments, which were titled using the protagonists’ first names (each played by Black). In the final segment, Amelia, Black has a serious run-in with a Zuni fetish doll she’s purchased. The doll supposedly contains the spirit of an actual Zuni hunter named “He Who Kills”… yikes! Why would you buy that? Of course the gold chain that keeps the spirit inside the doll accidentally falls off, and then it’s feets don’t fail me now! And the doll, especially for those of us who grew up in the late 70’s/early 80’s, was an absolute nightmare! For those who haven’t seen it, we have the entire 16-minute Amelia segment below. Fantastic finish!
The Conjuring (2012) – Annabelle
We now begin the James Wan segment of our program. Wan was not only responsible for Annabelle, but also a pair of Billy the Puppets, which you’ll find below. Perhaps Annabelle was better suited as an intro to a movie, as she was in The Conjuring, but she did earn her own film, and possessing a creepy factor high enough to garner your own movie is laudable. Based on an real-life case, Annabelle is a supposed possessed toy and it does indeed seem that there is something really, really creepy about this particular doll. Don’t let the mediocre Annabelle movie make you forget just how effective she was in The Conjuring. The Annabelle story provided an absolutely perfect intro to set the tone for what was yet to come in The Conjuring. Annabelle is indeed one creepy character!
Saw series – Billy the Puppet
It’s not bad enough that you have to wake up and find yourself with a reverse bear trap on your head or in a razor wire maze or whatever other devious device Jigsaw has dreamed up for you. No, to make things worse, you have to have an uber-creepy puppet peddle out on a tricycle like Gonzo the Great on “The Muppet Show” to let you know what a shit you’ve been your entire life. And to also inform you that the shitty life you’ve been leading is going to end in about two minutes if you don’t perform a task which is certainly not going to be to your liking. Billy the Puppet became the mascot for the Saw series and was a perfect blend of silly and chilling at once. The bottom line with Billy was once you saw him, things were certainly about to go from bad to “Oh, fuck.” Check out one of Billy’s greatest scenes below from the original Saw with an amazing co-starring performance by the lovely Shawnee Smith
Dead Silence (2007) – Billy the Puppet
This could easily be interchanged with the 1987 film Magic, which also contains a creepy ventriloquist’s dummy, but we decided since James Wan seemed to be on a roll with two other films on this list, why not give him a third? Also, Dead Silence had a number of creepy puppets. And this also gives us the chance to point out that both the Saw and Dead Silence puppets are named Billy. Perhaps the dummy was a nod to the Saw puppet, which had debuted three years earlier. Go figure. Kinda like having two teams nicknamed the Roughriders in the Canadian Football League. Come on, man! Anyway, as puppets go, Billy the Ventriloquist’s Dummy takes the level on the creepy meter and pushes it right up to the top. Wan showed his evolution, making the doll in this film even more disturbing than his previous one, and he still had Annabelle up his sleeve! Well done!
“The Twilight Zone” – “Living Doll” episode (1963) – Talky Tina
“My name is Talky Tina, and you’d better be nice to me.” Good advice! Unfortunately, Erich Streator (played by a pre-Kojak Telly Savalas) has a hard time dealing with the doll given to his step-daughter, Christie, by his new wife, Annabelle (it all goes full-circle in this haunted doll thing, doesn’t it?). Rod Serling opened the episode with an intro stating, “Talky Tina, a doll that does everything, a life-like creation of plastic and springs and painted smile. To Erich Streator, she is the most unwelcome addition to his household – but without her, he’d never enter the Twilight Zone.” Needless to say, Talky Tina and Erich had a showdown, and things didn’t work out too well for him. Below is the entire episode condensed down into two minutes. Who loves ya, baby?
Puppet Master series – Blade, Jester, Pinhead, Leech Woman, Torch, etc.
Producer Charles Band’s Full Moon Entertainment brought a legendary film series to life when he introduced us to the creations of the Puppet Master. Andre Toulon’s (originally played by William Hickey, who’s also known for being the voice of Dr. Finklestein in A Nightmare Before Christmas as well as Clark Griswold’s ornery old Uncle Lewis in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) creations made for fantastic entertainment, and with each successive sequel in the Puppet Master series, it was always fun to be surprised at what the newest addition to the family of puppet murderers would be. But, of course, Blade always ran the show. Below is a clip from the original Puppet Master featuring Blade and Pinhead in bloody action.
Demonic Toys (1992) – Baby Oopsy Daisy, Grizzly Teddy, Jack Attack, Mr. Static, etc.
Also brought to us by Charles Band’s Full Moon Entertainment, Demonic Toys features a line-up of demented playthings that are just a bit less polished than their Puppet Master brethren. None of them have the icy coolness of Blade or the sheer precision of Six-Shooter, but they are damn entertaining. So just what group of heinous hellions are superior? Of course we found that out when they squared off in Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys (although this was not produced by Full Moon, so technically not in the Puppet Master canon). And, as with any head-to-head cinematic match-up, we never really find out just who is ultimately superior as Baby Oopsy Daisy gets one final shot in just as the credits role. But for sheer off-the-wall entertainment, you’ve gotta love these Demonic Toys!
Robert the Doll
While researching this list, we came across the story of a real-life haunted plaything named Robert the Doll. In 1906, this particular plaything was given to Key West painter Robert Eugene Otto by a Bahamian servant skilled in voodoo who was displeased with the family. First mistake. Never take a gift from a voodoo practitioner who is not pleased with you. According to the story, the parents first heard young Robert Eugene talking to the doll and figured he was disguising his voice and replying himself. Not the case. The story says the doll was talking back! Neighbors claimed to see the doll moving from window to window when the family was out, and it was said to even give off a heinous giggle. Young Robert Eugene would wake screaming in the night, and when his parents responded to a disheveled room, he would say, “Robert did it!” The segment below from Travel Channel gives a great history on this haunted artifact that is said to be the inspiration for Chucky.
May (2002) – Suzie
Lovely May Dove Canady fits so nicely on so many of these top lists, and here she appears once again. She and her only true friend, her handmade doll Suzie. Unlike most of the other dolls on this list, Suzie never hurt anyone. Well, not really. But she certainly did inspire some violence. The destruction of Suzie’s case and body finally sent May off the deep end and into a murderous state of mind. We do have to admit May’s best look was when she dressed up in a Suzie-like fashion and started her bloody rampage. And May’s Frankenstein-like doll of human parts completed at the end of the film, Amy, certainly should be mentioned here as well.
Poltergeist (1982) – The Clown
Here’s another one for you kids of the late 70’s/early 80’s era. Was there anything more traumatic than the clown doll in Robbie’s room? What kind of soulless parents would put that maniacal looking thing in their child’s living quarters? Even before the face distorted into the death-grin, that clown was a menace. And it inspired the fear of clowns through generations! Ever heard of coulrophobia before? It’s the fear of clowns. We’ll bet it didn’t exist in the 60’s or 70’s. No one was afraid of clowns, for god’s sake. It wasn’t until after Tobe Hooper unleashed this nightmare on us that coulrophobia came to be. Once beloved jesters, clowns were now mistrusted and feared. Thanks for the nightmares, Tobe! An unforgettably creepy doll for the ages, the Poltergeist clown is in the Hall of Fame of Nightmarish Toys!
Child’s Play series – Chucky
Honestly, could there be any other name but Chucky at the end of this list. He’s a Good Guy doll, your friend to the end. That is, until he tries to shove a butcher knife into you or set you on fire or whatever other nasty little trick he may have dreamed up for you. Voiced unforgettably by Brad Dourif, Chucky is what happens when a voodoo-practicing serial killer (the Lakeshore Strangler, Charles Lee Ray) is combined with a child’s doll. Bad things, man. Bad things. And through Chucky we met the lovely Tiff and their seed, Glen. Fine companions for any kid looking for a plaything. Chucky does have to be considered perhaps the greatest and most successful evil doll of all time.